The Automation of Science. Scientists find key to ageing process in hypothalamus | Science. Scientists have found a biological command centre for the ageing process in a lump of brain the size of a nut. The US team identified the mechanism in the hypothalamus, which sits deep inside the brain, and showed they could tweak it to shorten or lengthen the lives of animals. In a series of experiments, the researchers found they could extend the lives of mice by a fifth, without the animals suffering from muscle weakness, bone loss, or memory problems common in old age. The work raises the tantalising prospect of drugs that slow down natural ageing to prolong life in humans, but more crucially to prevent age-related diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer's.
"We're very excited about this. Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists describe how their research led them to what appears to be the body's control centre for ageing. Cai said there may be several ways to slow down ageing, with drugs that dampen the activity of NF-kB in the brain, or raise levels of GnRH. Lifespan of neurons is uncoupled from organismal lifespan. Author Affiliations Edited by Pasko Rakic, Yale University, New Haven, CT, and approved January 22, 2013 (received for review October 8, 2012) Abstract Neurons in mammals do not undergo replicative aging, and, in absence of pathologic conditions, their lifespan is limited only by the maximum lifespan of the organism.
Whether neuronal lifespan is determined by the strain-specific lifetime or can be extended beyond this limit is unknown. Here, we transplanted embryonic mouse cerebellar precursors into the developing brain of the longer-living Wistar rats. The donor cells integrated into the rat cerebellum developing into mature neurons while retaining mouse-specific morphometric traits. In their new environment, the grafted mouse neurons did not die at or before the maximum lifespan of their strain of origin but survived as long as 36 mo, doubling the average lifespan of the donor mice. Footnotes. New Study Validates Longevity Pathway. Resveratrol-like compound binds to sirtuin protein. Image by Han Dai and George Vlasuk A new study demonstrates what researchers consider conclusive evidence that the red wine compound resveratrol directly activates a protein that promotes health and longevity in animal models.
What’s more, the researchers have uncovered the molecular mechanism for this interaction, and show that a class of more potent drugs currently in clinical trials act in a similar fashion. Pharmaceutical compounds similar to resveratrol may potentially treat and prevent diseases related to aging in people, the authors contend. These findings are published in the March 8 issue of Science. For the last decade, the science of aging has increasingly focused on sirtuins, a group of genes that are believed to protect many organisms, including mammals, against diseases of aging. Mice on resveratrol have twice the endurance and are relatively immune from effects of obesity and aging. Regulating Energy Balance: The Substrate Strikes Back.